DON’T FORGET YOUR VOW

December 30, 2016

Psalms 66:13-14 I will go into thy house with burnt offerings; I will pay thee my vows, Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble.

As we approach the close of 2016 and begin a New Year I want to address a faulty habit that many people practice and that is making New Year’s resolutions. Many of us have good intentions when we vow, promise or say what we are going to do; however, the continued execution of our statement becomes unreliable.

Also, when we are in trouble many of us pray and make vows to God with promises of doing better or changing our behavior when we are delivered out of our situation. Unfortunately, when we are delivered we soon forget the promises we made.

Some examples of this practice are:

Prisoners who pray and ask God to get them out of prison, however, when they are set free they stop praying and they don’t even step over the threshold of a church door.

When we are ill because we are abusing our body we pray for healing and promise to change our ways; however, when God heals us it does not take us too long before we slip back into our detrimental behavior.

Those non-tithers that are experiencing financial difficulties ask God to help them and promise to pay their tithes; however, after they receive divine intervention they easily drift back into the habit of non-tithing.

These are only a few examples and I am sure you could add many examples to this list.

The author of the above Psalm reminds us that after we are delivered from our trouble we are not to forget but we are to follow through with our vow and connect with God for God does hold us accountable for the things that we say and do. Therefore, knowing human nature, I strongly recommend not saying anything, but rather just do the right thing.

As I am writing this blog I had to stop and ask God to forgive me for EVERYTHING that I have said and failed to do. In this New Year I plan to stop making promises and vows I cannot keep and I admonish you to do the same.

As I write this last blog of the year 2016 my prayer for you is, “GOD BLESS YOU AND MAY YOU HAVE A PEACEFUL AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR.”